Some sun in Amsterdam never hurt anyone. It's nice to be riding along and you see your shadow unincumbered by the grayness of clouds gone by - clouds that cut the sun off from reaching this city - clouds that turn beautiful canals into pits of death. I'm amazed at the wonderful life that sun brings to this city. Cafe's are busy with people enjoying a beer, couples staring intently into each other's sparkling eyes or simply the lonely stranger, coffee in hand, eyes closed, loving every second of sun that hits her face. It's a wonderful site and one which I hope we see lots more of in Amsterdam soon. 

I've often wondered what it must be like for Leo to meet the ducks face to face, so I decided to check it out for myself. When I later looked at this picture, I found myself scared and at the time, thinking I should run. 

making an entrance

I was out walking the other day with my dog, Leo, and I came across this hole in a tree. Standing there wondering what such a hole might be used for, I noticed these beautiful green parakeets (or something of the nature) flying around in the trees, singing to the sun. It's kind of funny seeing these tropical birds at all when you are walking in Amsterdam. Nonetheless, I kept walking unsure what to think.

I circled around again though and sure enough, this little green bird emerges from the hole. Imagine that. In Amsterdam. Nature. It made me happy.

don't quite understand...

Walking through the streets of Amsterdam, I'm amazed at the number of signs, posters, and flyers around. I guess the part that amazes me most is that I have no idea what most of them are advertising - are they even advertisements at all...? I walked past this shop the other day and was so perplexed. What is the point...?

So, it made me start thinking about the point in general. We are bombarded with sensory overload, but what's the point...? What is the reason for such things...? Do we need it...? Have I ever bought anything because I saw it on a poster...? I was thinking - do the staples of life ever get advertised...? I mean, I've never seen an advertisement for flour, or tap water, or sugar. I suppose there were some famous commercials for milk a few years ago - the milk moustache, but for the most part, our true needs are never advertised. Newer cars, newer gadgets, newer things - these are the advertisements that clutter our vision, infect our ears and bombard our brains.

It makes me long for the mountains where the peace and tranquility of simplicity surrounds and where creation sings in it's glory. I long for the trees, which carry no advertisement other than beauty. I long for the smells and fragrances of life that are found only in the pines. I long to hear birds uninterrupted by the cacophony of autos and buses. I long for a rock outcropping where my view is nature, obscured by neither skyscrapers nor concrete.

What is the point anyway...

One of the best I've seen...

I saw "Million Dollar Baby" last night. There is no doubt in mind why this movie won so many Oscar's. It was brilliant. It has everything - great directing, great acting, great story. It's truly one to be seen. Check out this review from Roger Ebert.

http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20041214/REVIEWS/41201004/1023

An Epidemic unlike any other....

The Aids epidemic is one that many of us in Western Europe and the United States cannot understand. It Western Culture we attribute it to drug use, sexual promiscuity and homosexuality - which may not be fair assumptions in the first place - but in Africa and now India and China, the AIDS problem is turning into the single greatest epidemic ever to face humanity. This is an issue we simply cannot ignore.

Check out this article to learn more...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4317019.stm

God in America...from the beginning

An interesting article on God and the founding forefathers...

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/27/weekinreview/27kirk.html?

Chuck and Jim - an open letter

Jim Wallis and Chuck Colson have been in the news a lately talking about their differences in the way they see the defining moral issues of our time. Check out the article at www.sojo.net from Jim Wallis in his "open letter to Chuck" and follow the links to see where this letter is coming from...

http://www.sojo.net/index.cfm?action=sojomail.display&issue=050224#3

Bush's Energy Plan...it's ghetto hooptie

check out this article on drilling in the ANWR...

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/21/politics/21refuge.html

genocide in darfur

please check out this links about the genocide in darfur - these links are important. click on the link on the right of the first link at the NYTimes under the 'special report' section. please do not be idle. pray. give. act.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/23/opinion/23kristof.html?ex=1109826000&en=6dcbb8193aaae4e7&ei=5070

www.savedarfur.org

www.darfurgenocide.org

big churches and little people

the oudekerk is one of the oldest churches in amsterdam... it's one of the largest churches in amsterdam... and it's in the heart of the infamous red light district - literally surrounded by lights of red. unfortunately, the oudekerk no longer serves as a place of worship, but rather as a place of art and pictures - a museum. the oudekerk is dirty and run down, with nothing but old tombs, battered columns and chipped paint to fill its vast space. it has fallen victim to an area of darkness and spiritual turmoil that haunts this beautiful city. maybe one day, just maybe, people will fill this huge church having come into it to seek something bigger than any church walls can hold within.

consumerism...

Even walking across the oldest bridge in Amsterdam, the Magere Bruge, I find myself annoyed by the ever present Coke can. At times, it seems like the Coke can is everywhere. You can cannot escape it. You cannot run from it. It is everywhere you look. The red can is engrained in my mind. It distracts me and disturbs me... all I'm trying to do is enjoy one of the most beautiful images in Amsterdam - the Amstel River on a sunny day.

wal-mart:: an enemy of social justice

I can think of no more destructive force in our society today than the Wall Street bohemoth - Wal-Mart. It may be huge and it may have every consumer product known to man packed within it's walls, but it is not good for America and it is not good for the world. I invite you to check it out for yourself at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/walmart/

Think about it, question it, act on it.

God's Politics

Jim Wallis, editor of SoJo Magazine, just released a new book called "God's Politics: Why the right gets it wrong and left doesn't get it" - I just purchased it myself and am very excited to dive in. I found this excerpt from the book online (http://www.sojo.net/special/items/050210_GPch1.pdf) and it only served to fuel the desire to know more about how politics and faith do not need to collide and create a vacuum of hope, nor does the faithful Christian have to sit in the back seat while politicians drive us through issues like abortion, the death penalty, hunger, AIDS, and fair trade only to serve the greater needs of power and fame. It is indeed time to take our faith back.

signs on the street

Riding a bike is a great way to get around. It's good for the environment, good for the lungs and good for the soul. Sometimes, the rain and wind don't make it so pleasant, but overall. I like riding a bike.

dogs and well...never seen a cat...

Everytime I see a dog on a bike it makes me smile. Once I saw a woman, who was on her bike, carrying one dog, another was in a basket on the front of the bike (both little guys of course) and then a german shepherd was running along side the bike. It was a good laugh. It sort of tickles me inside and I appreciate every time I see such events unfold before me on the streets of Amsterdam. Good stuff.

normally happy...? 

normal and not normal

what is normal and abnormal. it's all the way someone sees reality i suppose. if you see someone different than yourself, you see abnormal. if you see the same, you see normality. doesn't that make us all abnormal though - god made us all different from each other.

it's the funny thing about fashion. we are always trying to differentiate ourselves from the next person or group of people, but in reality we just want to be accepted, or in other words - we want to be the same. people want to be different and they will shop at the gap, abercrombie and fitch and old navy just so they will look the same. the same is true for people who dress "black" or "punk". a mohawk, some interesting earrings, a black trenchcoat... it's all to look abnormal, until you see that person together with his/her friends and you realize that reality is just looking the same. comfort and security are desires of the heart that are only fulfilled in consistency not in abnormalcy. so, we all look the same, but we never will be.

nazi's doomed to death...?

So, I was watching a CNN Insight program last night on Professor Churchill from the University of Colorado. He is becoming famous for comments he made almost three years ago in an essay shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks, when he made a claim that the people who died in the attacks sort of - "deserved to die."

It's controversial no doubt. Why he made comments in this way, I'm not sure, but he makes some interesting points about how Americans often do not understand how the things they do affect the rest of the world (showed more completely on Insight than in this article). However, to make a comment calling the victims "Nazi's" was downright stupid. Check out this article to read more about this issue. Is it a free speech issue...? Why did he make comments that were so obviously directed to create controversy...?

http://edition.cnn.com/2005/EDUCATION/02/02/speaker.protest.ap/

U2 poster